800 East 96th Street, Indianapolis, Indiana 46240 USA MINECRAFT Stephen O’Brien The Ultimate Player’s Guide to The Ultimate Player’s Guide to Minecraft ii The Ultimate Player’s Guide to Minecraft Copyright © 2014 by Que Publishing All rights reserved. No part of this book shall be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the publisher. No patent liability is assumed with respect to the use of the information contained herein. Although every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this book, the publisher and author assume no responsibility for errors or omissions. Nor is any liability assumed for damages resulting from the use of the information contained herein. ISBN-13: 978-0-7897-5223-9 ISBN-10: 0-7897-5223-9 Library of Congress Control Number: 2013946682 Printed in the United States of America Sixth Printing February 2014 Trademarks All terms mentioned in this book that are known to be trademarks or service marks have been appropriately capitalized. Que Publishing cannot attest to the accuracy of this information. Use of a term in this book should not be regarded as affecting the validity of any trademark or service mark. Minecraft is a trademark of Notch Development AB. Warning and Disclaimer Every effort has been made to make this book as complete and as accurate as possible, but no warranty or fitness is implied. The information provided is on an “as is” basis. The author and the publisher shall have neither liability nor responsibility to any person or entity with respect to any loss or damages arising from the information contained in this book. Bulk Sales Que Publishing offers excellent discounts on this book when ordered in quantity for bulk purchases or special sales. For more information, please contact U.S. Corporate and Government Sales 1-800-382-3419 corpsales@pearsontechgroup.com For sales outside of the U.S., please contact International Sales international@pearsoned.com Editor-in-Chief Greg Wiegand Executive Editor Rick Kughen Development Editor Rick Kughen Managing Editor Sandra Schroeder Project Editor Seth Kerney Copy Editor Gill Editorial Services Indexer Ken Johnson Proofreader Jess DeGabriele Technical Editor Timothy L. Warner Publishing Coordinator Kristen Watterson Book Designer Mark Shirar Compositor Bronkella Publishing iii Contents at a Glance Introduction 1 CHAPTER 1 Getting Started 7 CHAPTER 2 First-Night Survival 23 CHAPTER 3 Gathering Resources 47 CHAPTER 4 Mining 69 CHAPTER 5 Combat School 83 CHAPTER 6 Crop Farming 103 CHAPTER 7 Taming Mobs 125 CHAPTER 8 Creative Construction 137 CHAPTER 9 Redstone, Rails, and More 159 CHAPTER 10 Enchanting, Anvils, and Brewing 195 CHAPTER 11 Villages and Other Structures 217 CHAPTER 12 Playing Through: The Nether and The End 231 CHAPTER 13 Mods and Multiplayer 251 APPENDIX A Crafting Recipes (Online) Index 273 The Ultimate Player’s Guide to Minecraft iv Table of Contents Introduction 1 What’s in This Book 2 How to Use This Book 4 Crafting Recipes 4 There’s More Online... 5 Chapter 1 Getting Started 7 Registering and Downloading 7 Registering a Mojang Account 8 Purchasing Minecraft 10 Launching Minecraft 12 Starting a New Game 14 Choosing a World Generation Style 16 Singleplayer Game Modes 16 Seeding Your World 18 Controls 19 The Bottom Line 20 Chapter 2 First-Night Survival 23 Survive and Thrive 23 Head for the Trees 25 Using Your Inventory 27 Build a Crafting Table 29 Let’s Build Some Tools 30 Creating a Shelter 33 The Furnace Is Your Friend 38 Let There Be Light 39 Slumber with Lumber 41 The Bottom Line 44 Chapter 3 Gathering Resources 47 Introducing the HUD 47 Improving Your Tools 51 Chests: Safely Stash Your Stuff 54 Table of Contents v Avoiding Monsters 55 Hunger Management 58 Your Mission: Food, Resources, and Reconnaissance 59 Food on the Run 61 Finding a Building Site 63 A Resourceful Guide to the Creative Mode Inventory 66 The Bottom Line 68 Chapter 4 Mining 69 Dig Deep, My Friend 69 The Mining Layer Cake Guide 71 Lava Lakes and Other Pitfalls 73 Descending to Layer 11 74 The 2x1 Ladder Descent 74 The Straight Staircase 76 The Spiral Staircase 77 Layouts for Fast, Efficient Mining 78 Staying Safe While You Mine 81 The Bottom Line 82 Chapter 5 Combat School 83 Introducing the Menagerie 83 Zombies 84 Spiders 86 Skeletons 87 Cave Spiders 88 Spider Jockeys 89 Creepers 89 Slimes 90 Endermen 91 Zombie Pigmen 91 Defensive Mobs 92 Snow Golems 92 Iron Golems 93 The Ultimate Player’s Guide to Minecraft vi Weapons and Armor 94 Swordcraft 95 Bows and Arrows 95 Armor-All 98 Color Coordinate Your Leather 100 The Bottom Line 101 Chapter 6 Crop Farming 103 Choosing a Crop 103 Establishing a Farm 106 Automated Farms 113 Creating a Piston Harvester 117 Sticky Piston Harvesting 119 Creating a Water Harvester 119 Harvesting Other Crops 122 The Bottom Line 123 Chapter 7 Taming Mobs 125 Farming and Working with Friendly Mobs 125 Using Leads 128 Breeding Animals 129 Taming and Riding Horses, Donkeys, and More 130 Armoring Your Horse 132 Loading Up the Pack 133 Riding Pigs 134 Fishing 134 The Bottom Line 135 Chapter 8 Creative Construction 137 Leaving the Cave 137 Unleashing Your Interior Decorator 140 Building Underwater 147 Protecting Your Perimeter 153 Become a Ditch Witch 153 Mob Pitfalls 155 Thick as a Brick 157 The Bottom Line 157 Table of Contents vii Chapter 9 Redstone, Rails, and More 159 Seeing Red: A Beginner’s Guide 160 Power Sources 160 Redstone Wiring 164 Powered Blocks 166 Modifiers 167 Repeaters 168 Comparators 170 Output Devices 171 Automatic Doors 173 Vertical Currents 178 Advanced Circuits 180 NOT Gates, aka Inverters 180 OR Gates, or Any Input Will Do 181 AND Gates, Two True 182 Repeater Loops 184 Rail Transport 185 Have Minecart, Will Travel 186 Rolling on Rails 188 Making Tracks and Stations 190 T-Junctions 191 Halfway Stations 192 A Word About Hoppers 193 The Bottom Line 194 Chapter 10 Enchanting, Anvils, and Brewing 195 Enchanting Wiles 195 Creating and Mining Obsidian 197 Crafting Books 200 Casting Enchantments 200 Improving Enchantment Chances with Bookshelves 202 Earning and Managing Experience 203 Spruce Up Your Weapons 204 Enhance Your Armor 205 Improve Your Tools 206 The Ultimate Player’s Guide to Minecraft viii Hammer It Out with the Anvil 207 Brewing Potions 209 Brewing Up a Storm 211 Enhancing Potions 214 The Bottom Line 215 Chapter 11 Villages and Other Structures 217 Village Life 217 Emerald City: Your Ticket to Trade 220 Hidden Temples and Other Structures 222 Desert Temples 223 Jungle Temples 224 Witch Huts 224 Dungeons 225 Abandoned Mineshafts 226 Strongholds 226 Nether Fortresses 227 Mapping, or There and Back Again 227 Crafting a Clock 229 The Bottom Line 230 Chapter 12 Playing Through: The Nether and The End 231 Alternate Dimensions 231 Getting to The Nether 234 Portal Magic 236 Surviving the Nether Fortress 239 Nether Mobs 240 The End Game 242 Finding a Stronghold 244 Defeating the Ender Dragon 246 The Bottom Line 250 Table of Contents ix Chapter 13 Mods and Multiplayer 251 Customizing Your Experience 251 Changing the Skin You’re In 252 Minecraft Skin Editors 253 Skincraft 253 Minecraftskins 253 Novaskin 254 Resource Packs: Change Your World 255 Mind My Mods 258 Installing Forge Mods 259 Too Many Items 261 More Explosives 262 Super Heroes 262 REI’s MiniMap 263 Legendary Beasts 263 More Mobs 264 Multiplayer Madness 265 Sharing and Joining on LAN 266 Joining a Multiplayer Server 267 Hosting a Multiplayer Server 269 The Bottom Line 272 Appendix A Crafting Recipes (Online) Index 273 The Ultimate Player’s Guide to Minecraft x About the Author Stephen O’Brien is an Australian-born writer and entrepreneur currently residing in Sydney after too many years in Silicon Valley. He has previously written 27 books across multiple editions with publishers such as Prentice-Hall and Que, including several best-selling titles. He also founded Typefi, the world’s leading automated publishing system, and in his spare time he invented a new type of espresso machine called mypressi. He has been play- ing Minecraft since its earliest days and remains astounded at the unparalleled creativity it engenders. Acknowledgments xi Dedication To Mika, who at age nine taught his dad to laugh hysterically at the sight of a pig riding up a mountain in a minecart. Laughs and love always, dear boy. Acknowledgments It’s an author’s dream to work with a talented team, and I feel like I’m having a better dream than most. After 12 years away from Que working on entrepreneurial projects, I was incredibly fortunate to step straight back into the fold of a fantastic group. I’d like to thank Rick Kughen for his outstanding project direction, polished editorial efforts, and always gentle prompting even as I started to run behind schedule. Rick, it’s such a true pleasure to work with you again. Seth Kerney, thank you for so smoothly shepherding this book through the numerous stages of the publishing process. Karen Gill, I appreciate your thorough, pre- cise copyediting and constantly joyful feedback. Mark Shirar, you created a fantastic cover and page design. And Tim Warner, thanks for a technical edit that truly left no block uncov- ered, no cobblestone unturned. Writing a book always feels a long leap into the dark, with the only light often being close family and friends. I thank you all, in particular my dad, Tony; my siblings, Justin, Adele, and Siobhan; my dear friend Laura; and everyone else who gave me no end of encourage- ment, best wishes, and a chorus of variations on the very Australian “goodonya.” Last, but by no means least, thank you, Amy, for your constant love, support, and encour- agement. The Ultimate Player’s Guide to Minecraft xii We Want to Hear from You! As the reader of this book, you are our most important critic and commentator. We value your opinion and want to know what we’re doing right, what we could do better, what areas you’d like to see us publish in, and any other words of wisdom you’re willing to pass our way. We welcome your comments. You can email or write to let us know what you did or didn’t like about this book—as well as what we can do to make our books better. Please note that we cannot help you with technical problems related to the topic of this book. When you write, please be sure to include this book’s title and author as well as your name and email address. We will carefully review your comments and share them with the author and editors who worked on the book. Email: feedback@quepublishing.com Mail: Que Publishing ATTN: Reader Feedback 800 East 96th Street Indianapolis, IN 46240 USA Reader Services Visit our website and register this book at quepublishing.com/register for convenient access to any updates, downloads, or errata that might be available for this book. Introduction Imagine waking one morning thrust from your soft, cozy bed into a strange new world. A square sun crosses the sky. You have no tools or weapons—nothing but your bare, knobby hands. You briefly survey the landscape. Hills and forests surround you. A cow lows in the distance. On a hunch you look for a Horn of Plenty—anything that may deliver something useful. Every other RPG you’ve played has plenty of stuff lying around. But it’s a fruitless search with no cache in sight. Curiously, though, one of your random clicks does dig a hole in the ground. Interesting. But how does it help? You try again. Another hole. Hmmm. You continue your reconnaissance, admiring the varied terrain, soaring cliffs, verdant forests, and clear blue lakes. It certainly is pleasing to the eye, but this universe seems to work by unfamiliar rules. The sun is moving far too briskly across the sky, and nightfall now looks like it’s mere minutes away. That can’t be good. You start a kind of random flail, clicking everything in sight. The trunk of a tree looks promising. Aha! A block of wood falls to the ground. But what to do with it? You have to figure that out later. Darkness descends, and with it comes an unearthly groan. Strange figures appear in the distant gloom, lurching toward you. A slithering slurp shrieks into your senses from behind. A cold finger of fear trips down your spine. You run for the base of the nearest cliff. If your back’s against the wall, it might as well be a sturdy one. Wait a moment. Is that the mouth of a cave? Perfect! A final quick dash sees you safely inside. The darkness turns to an inky black. You stumble down a ledge putting more distance between you and the horrifying creatures outside. Stop, breathe, look around. You hear the briefest hiss, like a burning fuse. Frantically spinning to find the source, you catch a glimpse of a ghastly green face. It’s the last you’ll see before a gigantic explosion claims your life. Welcome to Minecraft and a typical experience for the millions of players who buy this game in ever- increasing numbers on every major platform. Minecraft is, without doubt, one of the most interest- ing open-ended games ever produced. It’s also one of the most vexatious. From the first moment I started playing this game, back in the beta, to today’s extraordinary experi- ence, Minecraft has developed into a tour de force of absolutely splendid gameplay, but one that is not easily accessible. Introduction 2 Before I even thought about writing this book I found it popping up more and more fre- quently in random conversations among all age levels—everyone from my nine-year old’s best friends going on up...way up. Minecraft’s unique open-endedness offers an equally open-ended fascination to people of all ages. Fifty million of them, and counting. Clearly, Minecraft was enjoying unparalleled success for an independent production, but there was something strange going on. The game still lacked an in-depth tutorial or docu- mentation of any sort. And while there is no paucity of online resources, how do you explain a game where every block bends to your will; where the terrain can dance to your tune; where an electrical system can do a crazy range of things including simulating its own computer; and where other elements such as casting enchantments, brewing potions, and finding a way to get to and defeat the final boss require some curiously specific, obtuse steps and strategies? The online community has stepped into that breach admirably, going to the point of decompiling the code to understand and document specific game mechanics, but the essen- tials are often buried among hundreds of thousands of random Minecraft videos or tucked in with other encyclopedically detailed documentation. And, among all that, there are liter- ally thousands of junk sites trying to trick you into clicking on ads or installing malware. This book fills the gap, bringing together all the key information you need in a single place. Written from the player’s perspective, it takes you through the essentials and then far beyond with all the background information, crafting recipes, strategies, and ideas you need to make your Minecraft world truly your own. It covers everything from first-night survival to hosting your own Multiplayer server. If you are a parent wondering if Minecraft is suitable for your own kids, consider it to be as far from a consumption-only experience as old-school rote learning is from an active educa- tion filled with exploration and discovery. Minecraft will inspire great feats of imagination and a thirst for understanding how its many facets enmesh and evolve. Best of all, it’s like one of those great movies or books that are marketed toward kids but entertain adults on a whole other level. Play it together—even turn off the monsters through its creative or peace- ful modes—and enjoy your time playing together with kids as young as four or five. But I warn you, it’s addictive. Please remember to give them a go now and then. No matter who you are or how you play, you’ll find Minecraft to be an endlessly fascinat- ing, wonderful, enjoyable world. It’s going to be quite the journey! What’s in This Book Survive and thrive in Minecraft with 13 chapters of detailed step-by-step guides, tips, tricks, and strategies. Each chapter in this book focuses on a key aspect of the game, from initial survival to building an empire. Make the most of your Minecraft world today: Q Chapter 1, “Getting Started,” will walk you through the steps needed to download and install Minecraft, and start a new game, optionally using seeds to control the world gen- eration. What’s in This Book 3 Q Chapter 2, “First-Night Survival,” is an essential strategy guide to one of the most chal- lenging times in Minecraft. You’ll learn to craft essential tools and build your first mob- proof shelter, all in less than 10 minutes of gameplay. Q Chapter 3, “Gathering Resources,” will fill out the skills you need to build a permanent base of operations, create better tools, store resources, and find food to stave off hun- ger. I also show you how to use the built-in GPS so you can always find your way home, even after extended forays into the wilds. Q Chapter 4, “Mining,” unlocks some of Minecraft’s deepest secrets. I’ll show you the best tunneling plan to uncover the most resources in the shortest possible time, the essential tools required, and the layers you should dig to uncover everything from basic iron ore to diamonds. Q Chapter 5, “Combat School,” will get you ready to tackle any mob, including the creeper. From sword-fighting techniques to armor, this chapter has you covered. You’ll also learn the essential perimeter protection techniques for your home. Q Chapter 6, “Crop Farming,” will help you become completely self-sufficient, ensuring the hunger bar stays full, constantly boosting your health. Learn to hydrate 80 blocks of farm land with a single water block, and automate your harvests at the touch of a button. Q Chapter 7, “Taming Mobs,” is all about Minecraft’s passive animals, the chickens, pigs, cows, horses, and more that populate its world and provide you with valuable resources. Learn to breed animals, tame Ocelots to scare off creepers, and gallop across the world on horseback. Q Chapter 8, “Creative Construction,” will help you unleash your inner architect. From grand constructions to inventive interiors, learn about the decorative ways you can use Minecraft’s blocks and items to build the perfect abode. Q Chapter 9, “Redstone, Rails, and More,” empowers your world with a host of auto- mated devices. Control redstone power, automated doors, send minecarts on missions, and build stations, stopovers and more. Q Chapter 10, “Enchanting, Anvils, and Brewing,” will have you brewing up a storm. Cast spells, improve your weapons and armor, and fall from great heights with grace. Q Chapter 11, “Villages and Other Structures,” is your key to interacting with the other non-playing characters. Trade your way to better goods, and learn the secrets of the game’s temples. Q Chapter 12, “Playing Through: The Nether and The End,” is the strategy guide you’ll need to get through these tricky sections of the game. Find a fortress fast, get what you need, and then prepare for the Ender Dragon. It’s easy when you know how. Introduction 4 Q Chapter 13, “Mods and Multiplayer,” will show you how to customize the game, from new character skins to mods that add a host of functionality. And along the way you’ll also learn how to access multiplayer games and set up a permanent world on your own server for family and friends. How to Use This Book Throughout this book, you’ll see that I have called out some items as Notes, Tips, and Cautions—all of which are explained here. NOTE Notes point out ancillary bits of information that are helpful but not crucial. They often make for an interesting meander. TIP Tips point out a useful bit of information to help you solve a problem. They’re useful in a tight spot. CAUTION Cautions alert you to potential disasters and pitfalls. Don’t ignore these! Crafting Recipes You’ll also see that I’ve included crafting recipes throughout this book. I’ve included the actual ingredients in the text, so just match the pattern you see to create the item, as shown here for a wooden pickaxe. It’s easy, and you’ll be surprised how quickly you can whip them up after just a few uses. There’s More Online... 5 There’s More Online... In addition to the information packed between the covers of this book, I’ve put together a complete guide to all the crafting recipes online. Feel free to download! Visit http://www. quepublishing.com/register to register your book and download your free PDF copy. 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